Surprise!
by seasidehearts
Summary: Kairi expects a normal day of training but is blindsided by Sora's plans for a Valentine's Day adventure. Canon, post KH3D, SoKai.


**I know this is really late for a Valentine's Day fic but I've had a lot of family drama going on so it couldn't be helped, really. Hope you still like it even though it's slightly out of season now!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own KH or its characters.**

_XoX Surprise! XoX_

"Oops, almost forgot." I turned around and headed back to my dresser, grabbing the cards and candy off the top of it. "I guess I understand why we can't, but I wish we could just have a break today…" I muttered to myself, cradling the stuff for Sora and Riku in one arm while using the other to open my door.

Wandering down the hallway towards the practice room, I caught sight of Riku sipping on his coffee with his back against the wall and seemingly half asleep. To my surprise, he immediately opened his eyes and glanced in my direction. '_Guess he heard my footsteps._' I smiled sheepishly, wondering how loud I was being without noticing. Aside from Yen Sid, I was the only morning person in the tower and often forgot to be quiet. "Good morning, Riku." I called out as I walked towards him.

"Kairi," Riku started with a step towards me.

Figuring he had caught sight of my gifts in my arms, I quickly interrupted him, "Look, I know we said not to get each other anything since we're just practicing today but I felt bad. So here," I handed him his things, "Happy Valentine's day. Is Sora up yet?" I questioned, peeking around Riku to see if he was at the other end of the hallway.

"Happy Valentine's day to you too." Riku continued with a smirk on his face, "Yeah, Sora's up. He's in the practice room already. I'm gonna go put the stuff you gave me in my room so I don't have to set it down on the floor or anything while we're working. I'll be back in a few minutes."

"Oh, yeah, I didn't really think about that… Sorry." I laughed, "Okay, guess I need to go give this to Sora so he'll have enough time to run back to his room before we need to start." I gave him a small wave before he headed down the hallway. Taking a few steps forward myself, I felt my heart begin to race inside my chest. '_You're just giving it to him as a friend, why are you getting nervous?_' I questioned myself, lingering outside the door. Slowly creaking the door open and peeking in, I called out, "Sora?"

"Yeah, I'm in here." I heard him reply, but couldn't see where he was. Squinting in confusion, I walked into the room and closed the door behind me. "Hey," I heard him say from my left, causing me to whirl around.

"Hey," I repeated back with a smile. Noticing his hands were behind his back, I opened my mouth to question him but he beat me to it.

Bringing his arms to his front, he revealed a bouquet of pink roses and extended them towards me, "Happy Valentine's day, Kairi." He smiled shyly at me.

Reaching for the flowers with my mouth hanging open, I replied, "H-happy Valentine's day to you too!" Feeling Sora's things about to fall from where I had them tucked between my arm and my side, I quickly retracted my arms before holding out his gifts and saying, "Oh, I have something for you too… it's not much, but I didn't think—"

He interrupted me and took his things in his free hand, "Don't worry about it, it's perfect."

Taking the flowers in my arms, I commented, "Sora, they're really beautiful. Thank you…" I stared at them for a moment in awe before coming to a realization, "I don't really know where I'm going to keep them though. I don't know if Yen Sid has any vases."

"Already taken care of," Sora replied smugly, motioning to the side of the room where there was a purple vase sitting on top of a tall desk.

"Wow," I blinked, walking over to the desk and noticing that the vase already had water in it. Taking off the purple paper wrapped around them, I gingerly placed the roses into the vase. Admiring them again, I wondered aloud, "I'm surprised Riku hasn't come back yet."

"That's the other part of the surprise." Sora replied from the other side of the room with his face hidden behind the card I had given him. Putting it down, he walked over to me and placed the card and chocolate next to the vase.

I raised my eyebrows, intrigued, "Surprise? But I thought we had practice and Yen Sid wasn't going to let us take today off?"

"Well, I guess were not technically taking today off…" Sora put a few fingers against his temple with a grimace, "I tried to make today just about fun but I basically had to beg Yen Sid to even get away with this."

I tilted my head in confusion, "Okay… so what does that mean? What's the surprise?"

He lowered his arm back to his side, "I'm gonna take you to see a few different worlds."

"That sounds great!" I smiled excitedly, "But what's the catch, then?"

"…We still have to practice." Sora sighed, obviously frustrated.

"That's okay." I hugged him tightly, surprising him. Once had returned it, I continued, "It's still a really thoughtful idea. Thank you, Sora."

Keeping his arms lightly draped around my waist, he replied softly, "You're welcome."

Stepping back, out of his grasp, I smiled mischievously, "Besides we don't _have_ to practice…"

Sora shook his head but smiled, "I'd rather not get in trouble, Kairi. Like I said, I had to _beg._"

"Okay, okay." I laughed.

"The good news is we're really just going over the basics, so it should be easy." He said in a reassuring voice, walking towards the door.

I immediately frowned, "What? The basics!?" Sora turned back around, confused at my reaction, "We've been practicing for weeks now! You don't have to baby me…" I crossed my arms, somewhat offended.

"What? No. You're taking it completely wrong." The brunette waved his arms, "You have to re-learn the basics in certain worlds because otherwise, you won't be able to attack properly. You'll see when we get there." He turned back around and went out the door, "C'mon!"

Still pouting, I followed after him and muttered, "If you say so…" Walking a bit and seeing Riku at the end of the hall, I asked, "Wait, is Riku coming with us?"

"No, I don't know what he's doing." Sora replied in an annoyed tone, muttering something about how he told Riku to stay in his room. As Sora got closer, Riku started tossing tiny handfuls of something into the air. "What the…rice?" He stopped, staring at the silver haired boy.

Blushing, I answered, "He's making fun of us. Pretending like we're newlyweds."

"You're newly dating after liking each other for years, same thing." Riku shrugged, throwing another handful up into the air and causing a few grains to get caught in my hair. Noticing our silence, he raised an eyebrow, "You are dating, right?"

Sora looked at me and I stared back at him, slowly letting out, "I…don't know? Are we?"

He stumbled with his words for a moment, trying to decide what to say. Eventually, he locked eyes with me and said, "I would like to be, as long as you want to."

"Of course I do." I smiled widely and Sora subtly pumped his arm in success.

"That was possibly one of the most awkward things I've seen in my life, so I'm gonna go now." Riku made a face as if he were grossed out by us before starting to walk back to his room, calling out "Have fun!"

"Thanks!" I replied happily, while Sora gave him more of a sarcastic tone.

Putting a hand on his shoulder, I commented, "You let him get under your skin too easily."

He shrugged, "Maybe. Anyways, let's get going." Opening the huge double doors, I saw the gummi ship was lingering right outside of it. The door of the gummi ship clicked and folded downward, making a ramp for us to walk on. He took a few steps forward before turning back around and extending his hand, "Ready?"

"Definitely." I nodded eagerly, taking his hand and letting him gently lead me farther into the gummi ship. After Sora let go of my hand to take his place in the pilot seat, I asked, "Will I ever get to learn how to drive this thing?"

"Er," Sora paused and laughed nervously, "I don't know. Riku doesn't know how to, either. It's more of a me, Donald and Goofy thing. I think I like it being pilot too much to give it up."

"What if you got really hurt or something and Riku and I had no way of getting home, though?" I asked quietly as I put on my seatbelt.

I heard Sora put on his seatbelt as well, answering, "I didn't really think about that, so I guess the answer is I have to."

Amused at his defeat, I smiled to myself and asked, "So where to?"

"I figured Atlantica would be the best to go to first since it's the most different out of what I had planned." Sora answered while he readied the ship for departure. Feeling the floor shudder beneath my feet, it wasn't long till I was tugged forward as the gummi ship began it's take off.

"The most different…is that really all you're going to tell me until we get there?" I crossed my legs, trying to make myself comfortable.

"Yep, that's it for now." Sora smirked, not averting his focus from the windshield.

I tapped my feet against the ground impatiently, "Okay, have it your way." After only a few minutes, Sora announced that we were there. "Really?" I replied, surprised, "I figured it would take at least half an hour or more."

"Nope." He got up out of the pilot seat and moved to an area towards the back of the ship that looked like a closet, "Let's go."

"What do you mean? The door's right here." I got up and took a few steps toward it.

Sora shook his head, "Won't work for this world. Like I said, we're training in worlds that are completely different than what you're used to."

"I know you said that, but I'm really confused." I began walking towards where Sora was, dragging my feet out of anticipation and nervousness. As I got closer, I saw his fingers lingering over a blue button on the wall.

Just as I was about to ask what it was, he asked me, "Ready?"

I bit my lip, "I guess as much as I'll ever be."

"On three." Sora warned me before he started counting down, "One. Two. Three." With that, he mashed down the button and I was blinded by a bright light.

Before my vision came back, I felt water all around me but at the same time I could breathe. '_But that doesn't make sense…'_ I thought to myself, but as my vision was restored I saw that I was in fact surrounded by water. '_But how could—'_ I tried to swim forward, but I couldn't move my legs like I wanted to. Looking down in confusion, I saw that instead of my two legs I had a light pink fin. "I'm a _mermaid_?" I exclaimed in disbelief. On top of that, I realized my dress had been replaced by a lavender bra-like top made of seashells.

"Yep! Isn't it cool?" I heard Sora's voice from behind me before I saw him swim in front of me. He was shirtless with a light blue fin.

Out of nervousness, my hands flew up to my top as I tried to cover myself as I complained, "I feel half naked."

He studied my new form for a moment before shrugging, "Is it really that different from wearing your bikini to the beach? You like nice."

I let my arms fall back down to my sides, "I guess you're right. It just feels weird."

"You'll get used to it." He said with a grin as he swam a circle around me before swimming upward, "And here's what I meant by relearning the basics. You have to learn how to move all over again. So, first, swim up to where I am now."

"Yeah, you really weren't kidding…" I replied, looking down and nervously touching my lower body out of curiosity. It was sleek and slippery to the touch, but still warm. I looked back up to Sora before closing my eyes and taking a deep breath, reassuring myself, '_You can do this._' Completely focusing on my goal to reach Sora, I figured out how to use my newly acquired muscles and awkwardly made my way there.

"Good, but you've still got some work to do." Sora commented before swimming away from me again, this time downward. Determined, I made my way to him again; this time a little more gracefully. "Great, just a few more times." Sora swam off in different directions with me following after him, and I felt myself becoming more accustomed to my new form with each try. "I think you've pretty much got it down now." He reached out to gently touch my shoulder.

"How long did it take you the first time you came here?" I asked curiously, as Sora seemed to be very good at it.

He retracted his hand and tilted his head in thought, "Hmm… Probably about the same as you, if not a little longer." He smiled, adding, "But I've had a lot of practice since then, too."

I nodded, "I thought so. But I was wondering if living on an island your entire life somehow automatically made you half a fish." I finished with a giggle.

"Nah, although I'm sure it helped a little." He laughed, "But, you spent the majority of your life on an island too. I'm sure if I had gotten powers, you would have too." Letting a moment of silence pass by, Sora summoned his keyblade and announced, "And now it's time to learn how to attack underwater."

I summoned my keyblade as well, replying, "Sounds easy enough."

He smirked at my confidence. He motioned me forward, holding his keyblade in a blocking position, "Okay, then swing at me."

"You asked for it." I lunged forward, moving much slower than I expected and easily being blocked by Sora in result.

"Remember, you're underwater. It's thicker than air so you kinda have to find your balance all over again and have to really think about your movements." Sora swung his keyblade, "Like if you feel the current is moving a certain way, use that to your advantage."

"Current. Got it." I repeated, swinging my keyblade and feeling it move almost effortlessly.

He motioned me towards him again, "C'mon, try to attack me a few more times and then it'll be time to move on to the next world."

"Really, already?" I asked in disbelief. '_I feel like I just got here…it's already time to leave?'_ I felt surprisingly saddened.

Sora nodded, "Don't worry. I'm sure you'll like the next place just as much." I nodded in response before swinging my keyblade in his direction again. He obviously wasn't expecting me to attack, I saw his eyes widen in terror as he quickly swam upward to avoid me. "You need to give me a _warning_, Kairi. Holy crap."

"Enemies won't give you a warning, though." I laughed nervously and smiled apologetically, "Sorry, though… "

Slowly moving back towards me, he jokingly questioned, "So is this what happens after you ask girls out? They suddenly become violent against you?"

I put my hands on my hips, "Hey, it was a miscommunication. I'm not violent!"

"That's what they all say…" Sora crossed his arms with a mischievous smirk.

I considered retorting out of anger, but bit my lip instead. "I see what you're doing, I'm not falling for it. You're trying to ruin my composure so I'll attack you out of anger and you'll easily blow off my attack." I gave him a determined stare.

He raised his eyebrows, "Ah, so you've caught on to me."

"Always have, always will. You're not good at hiding things." I replied smugly, readying my keyblade.

"I hid this surprise from you, didn't I?" He pointed out.

I shrugged, "Yeah, I guess so… But still."

"Okay, okay." He held up his keyblade, "Go."

I swung at him a few times, but he blocked everyone. Out of frustration, I swung harder than usual and actually managed to knock him off balance. "Good!" He commented happily, "I think we're done for now."

"Okay." I dismissed my keyblade. Looking around, I asked, "So how are we going to go get back to the ship from here?"

"Magic." Sora replied automatically.

Thinking he was being sarcastic, I replied, "No, really."

He lifted his keyblade and gave an amused smile, "I meant it. Magic."

Before I could respond, I was blinded by a bright light again. I suddenly felt very wobbly and could feel myself falling over. I let out a small yelp before I felt myself fall into Sora's arms. "I feel funny…" I was happy to have my legs back, but at the same time it felt weird and I couldn't seem to stand up straight.

"Just give it a few minutes, you'll be good as new." He supported me by my waist, leaning most of my weight against him.

"Sorry…" I turned towards him and closed my eyes, resting my head on his shoulder and trying to relax, knowing that freaking out wasn't going to help me.

"You don't need to apologize. I specifically took you there cuz it's one of the most drastic changes you'll go through, so this is normal. I'm not taking you there today, but in the Pride Lands you turn into animals… Let me tell you, going back from walking on all fours back to two is really weird too." He gently rubbed my back while he spoke, finishing with a laugh.

I let out a small laugh too, "Wow. Yeah, that does sound weird. It's funny, before today I just kinda assumed everyone was like us, just on different worlds. I had no idea that there was such variation."

"Yup. You kind of always have to expect the unexpected. Any new world could be something we've never experienced before. Of course, a lot of worlds are only humans, but there's still a bunch of things different about them all so that's what makes traveling so much fun." I opened my eyes and saw him staring at me.

Flushing a bit, I asked, "So what's the next world going to be like? Any hints?"

"Well, it's more 'normal' I guess you could say. But there's one thing about it that definitely makes it stick out." He smiled, probably knowing his vagueness was going to drive me crazy.

"Okay…" I dragged out the word, curious, "That could mean a lot of things."

"There's a reason it's called a surprise, Kairi." He shook his head before moving his hand from my back to my waist, "C'mon, I'll help you walk to the cockpit." I lifted my head from his shoulder and turned back around, letting him lead me forward. Though my legs still were a little bit shaky, I was definitely getting my footing back.

I stopped about ten feet from the chairs, "I wanna try walking by myself from here, Sora."

"You sure?" I felt his grasp loosen from around my waist.

"Yeah." I nodded, determined, "I mean, I plan on using my legs for the rest of my life so I have to start using them again eventually."

His hands slid away from me, "I'll be right behind you."

Taking a step forward and stumbling slightly, I heard Sora shift from behind me. Catching myself, I continued onward and easily made it to the chair. "Woo! I can walk with the accuracy of a toddler again!" I giggled.

He laughed, "Don't worry, your legs aren't going anywhere where we're going next. You'll just be using them in a different way." With that, he started the gummi ship on its new course.

I slumped down in my seat and crossed my arms, annoyed, "Okay, I take it back. You're not bad at hiding things."

"No, you're normally right. I'm just trying harder because it's a special occasion." He looked over at me for a moment, grinning.

"Yeah, yeah…" I replied unenthusiastically, staring out the windshield. Every world we passed, I wondered '_Is that it?'_ but we continued onward. Eventually we stopped at a world that looked very bright green and I asked, "Is it some sort of jungle…?"

"Well, part of it is, I guess. But I've actually never been to that part. I've only been aboard Captain Hook's ship and the part we're going to." Sora admitted.

"Really?" I questioned in disbelief, "Wow, I guess worlds really vary in sizes. I wouldn't change a thing about home, but it does seem a bit small compared to a lot of other places."

Sora unfastened his seatbelt and stood, turning to me and offering his hand, "Yeah, but that's what I like about it. Sometimes worlds can be so big it's overwhelming. I've never gotten lost on our island like I have on other worlds."

I took his hand and let him pull me up, "True. I'm just glad we got the chance to explore other worlds. Even though it's not quite the way we planned…"

Sora let out a sigh before shaking it off and giving a soft smile, "It definitely didn't start off well, but at least we're all together now."

I eagerly nodded, "Mhm. That's the important part."

"We should get going." Sora tugged on my hand before letting go and heading towards the back of the gummi ship again before he stopped in his tracks and quickly turned around , concerned, "You're fine walking, right?"

I waved him off, "Yeah, I'm fine." He looked me over for a moment before turning around and continuing on his way. Slowly, I followed after him and at last, I was feeling like myself. I stopped behind Sora, a confident grin on my face.

"Ready to go?" He turned his head to see me. Without a word, I nodded. Getting more used to this, I wasn't bothered much by the light this time. As Sora promised, I felt firm ground underneath my feet.

Looking around curiously, I could see the dark shadows of many buildings beneath us and a big river which the full moon was reflecting onto. "Are we on a skyscraper?" I asked, even though I had not seen Sora yet.

I heard his voice from behind me, "Close. It's a really big clock called Big Ben."

I turned around, smiling sweetly, "Did you bring me here just for the view? It is pretty romantic."

He laughed sheepishly, scratching the back of his neck, "Not quite, although that would have been a nice idea. Like I said, I had to have very specific plans in order for Yen Sid to okay it."

"But what could be so different about this world? Looks pretty normal to me." I looked around again, wondering if I had somehow missed something.

"You'll see." Sora closed his eyes, holding one hand over his chest and summoning the keyblade with the other. Twirling it a few times first, he raised it up and a small ray of light encircled it. The small orb of light stayed close to Sora as he opened his eyes and dismissed his keyblade, greeting, "Hey, Tink. Tinkerbell, this is Kairi; Kairi, this is Tinkerbell."

Squinting my eyes a bit I realized that it wasn't just an orb of light, it was a small woman with wings. Blinking a few times in disbelief, I stuttered, "H-hi, Tinkerbell. Nice to meet you." She stared at me, seeming to disapprove.

Sora noticed and smiled apologetically, "She's, uh, not very talkative." He looked back to her, "Could we use a little bit of your pixie dust, Tink?" She crossed her arms, clearly displeased. "Please?" He looked at her desperately. Heaving a sigh, she circled us both and a bunch of what looked like gold glitter fell down; disappearing before it impacted with my skin. "Thanks so much!" Sora exclaimed enthusiastically before Tinkerbell disappeared. When he turned back to me, he apologized, "Sorry… she doesn't seem like girls very much for some reason."

"It's okay, I guess…but what just happened to us?" I examined my body carefully, expecting something to change. Sora didn't answer, instead he walked towards the very edge of the building. As he dangerously lingered, I got very scared and reached towards him, "Sora, what are you doing? I don't want you to accidentally fall off." He smiled a bit before I saw he was literally glowing and not even touching the ground anymore. I gasped, "You're flying!"

"C'mon." He held out both of his hands, motioning me towards him, "All you have to do is believe you can do it and you can. Besides, I'm not gonna let you fall."

I inched closer to him, but still stayed back, "I know you won't. But it's still scary…"

"I know it is, but you have to try." He floated closer towards me and took my hands in his. I lightly dragged my feet as he pulled me outward, clenching my eyes shut. As I knew we were nearing the edge, I ripped my hands out of his and desperately flung my arms around his neck, holding on for dear life. He wrapped his arms around my waist. After a moment, he said, "See? You're doing it."

Blinking my eyes open, I saw that we were out in open air and the clock tower was several feet away. The view was amazing, but I was still scared out of my mind. Frustrated by my fear, I muttered, "I'm holding on to you, though."

"Let go of my neck, at least." He laughed, "Just give me your hands. I won't let go until you ask me to."

"Okay…" I answered reluctantly, pulling my arms back to my side slowly. Sora gently slid his hands up to my shoulders before moving them down my arms so he could grasp my hands. It was only then that I noticed that I was glowing too, and floating just as effortlessly as Sora. Quietly, I requested, "You can let go now." His hands slipped from mine, yet I stayed in place. I looked up and imagined myself flying upward, and I did. I laughed excitedly, "I'm flying!"

Sora rose up to join me, grinning, "See, I told you that you could do it."

I flew around him in various directions, enjoying this new feeling, "This is so amazing! I like this even more than being a mermaid!"

"You definitely seem to have a knack for it, too." He stayed in place, his blue eyes following me instead, "So should we start training or do you want a few more minutes?"

I eagerly summoned my keyblade, replying, "I think I'm ready."

Sora raised his eyebrows suspiciously, probably thinking I was overconfident, "Alright. Let's go." He summoned his keyblade and quickly moved into the blocking position, "Remember, the air is kind of like water. If you feel the wind moving in a certain direction, use it."

"Right." I nodded before lunging myself towards him. He blocked, but I used more force than he expected and knocked him slightly off balance. Going in for a rebound strike, I managed to disarm him.

He gaped at me, "Holy crap, Kairi. Were you faking being scared when we first got here or what?"

I fervently shook my head, "No, no! I really was scared. Flying is just probably the one thing I've always wanted to do but never thought was possible, so I guess now that I'm doing it I feel invincible…?" I questioned myself.

"Hm." Sora stared for a moment before suggesting, "Okay, then. Your turn to block."

"Okay." I held my keyblade up and waited for his attack. He lunged at me with a lot of speed, easily lowering my weapon.

I laughed nervously and he shook his head, saying, "It's okay to feel confident, but definitely not invincible. You're always gonna have vulnerabilities, you just have to know how to make up for them."

I looked down, somewhat embarrassed, "Yeah, I know."

"Try it out a few more times, I'm sure you'll get it." He readied himself to attack again and I moved back into my defensive position.

Though I blocked him at first, he did the same thing as I did earlier and got me with a rebound attack. "That was a little bit better, right?" I looked to him for approval.

He nodded, "Definitely. But still, let's keep going." He came at me a few more times before I finally managed to knock him away and attack him. "There we go!" He exclaimed as he blocked my keyblade.

"Phew," I wiped the back of my hand against my forehead, feeling a bit of sweat, "I'm getting kinda tired, now. Not to mention hungry." I looked down and rubbed my stomach.

"Okay. Well, the next world is the last and I planned on taking it easy there anyway, so it works out." Sora lowered his keyblade to his side.

"Sounds good," I smiled, "Let's get going, then." He nodded and waved his keyblade. Back on the gummi ship, I rushed to my seat, whining, "Oh my gosh, I'm starving. I didn't realize how hungry I was until now."

"Okay, okay." He hurried to the driver's seat, quickly departing from the world we were just on.

Ignoring my stomach pains, I asked, "So are you going to tell me where we're going this time?"

He tapped a finger against the steering wheel, "Hm… I dunno, should I?"

"Please." I begged in the sweetest voice I could manage.

He glanced at me for a moment before looking back, "Fine. I'm taking you back to your home town; Radiant Garden."

I blinked a few times, surprised. "Sora, you're so sweet. Thank you." I smiled widely.

"It should look a lot more like it used to when you were a little. Leon and everybody else have been working really hard to fix it up." He replied, obviously excited to show me.

"I look forward to it." I continued to smile to myself, looking down and twiddling with my fingers.

As we stopped at our destination, Sora asked, "I think there's a café in the main little plaza, is that okay? We can look for a regular sort of restaurant if you want."

I unbuckled myself and shook my head, "No, the café is fine. A restaurant would probably be packed, anyway."

"Oh, yeah. I didn't think about that." He stood, sheepishly rubbing the back of his neck.

"No big deal," I assured him, "I want something like a sandwich more than a full sized meal, anyway. Maybe a slice of cake or something sweet like that, too."

"Now you're making me hungry." He laughed, now rushing to the back of the ship.

Though I was getting used to the weird magic ways of transportation, I had to ask, "Why is it we only use the normal door at Yen Sid's tower?"

"It's because we're not really supposed to reveal we're from other worlds, usually. There's a bunch of other reasons Donald told me but I don't really remember." He shrugged, "Either way, I think this is easier."

"Gotcha." I nodded, "Anyways, let's get going." With that, I quickly found myself standing just outside of the plaza Sora was talking about.

"So…does it look familiar at all?" I heard his voice before I felt his fingers slip into mine.

I looked around again, trying to dig through my memories, "Um… a little bit. But nothing like overwhelming yet."

Sora seemed a little disappointed but tugged me forward anyway, "Okay, let's go get some lunch."

"Yes, please." I answered enthusiastically, letting him guide me to the café. After I ordered my food, I began to pull out my wallet but was quickly shooed away by Sora, who suggested I should find a place to sit. "Thank you." I said softly before wandering off towards the tables. As it was somewhat chilly outside, I automatically ruled the patio seats out. Spotting a cozy looking booth, I rushed over and spread myself out after sitting down; making it clear that I was saving a seat for another person. Seeing Sora come over with our food, I put my feet back on the ground.

"Here you go." He placed the tray down in front of me before scooting over next to me.

Quickly grabbing the sandwich, I took a big bite. Nodding in approval, I complimented, "It's good." Sora tried to reply, but his mouth was full of his own sandwich. Instead, he gave a thumbs up, which made me laugh and nearly choke on the water I was taking a sip of. All too quickly both of our sandwiches were gone, leaving the piece of chocolate cake I'd picked. Knowing Sora probably wasn't full either, I suggested, "Wanna share?"

"Thanks," He grinned, "I was considering going back up there to get myself one because it just looks so good."

"You're welcome." I smiled back, passing him the fork.

After sharing a few bites, we went back outside and moved farther into town. After walking for a while, we came upon a large garden, to which Sora said, "Wow, this is new. But I guess it makes sense, this place _is _called Radiant Garden."

"Wait…I remember this." I wandered ahead of Sora, slowly spinning around and taking in the surroundings, "I used to come here all the time to pick flowers. I would usually take them back to my grandmother but sometimes I would just give them out to random strangers. I remember… I was attacked by some sort of creatures that looked like heartless but were somewhat different. This girl with blue hair saved me…and she had a keyblade! Now that I think about it, King Mickey was there as well."

Sora gave a curious look, "Maybe you should mention it to him once we get back. Seems pretty important."

"I will," I replied seriously, before turning around and hurrying off, "But I wanna pick some flowers for you before we go!"

"Heh, okay." I heard him say from behind me.

Wandering around the garden for about twenty minutes, I collected a small bouquet of flowers for Sora consisting of whatever sorts of red flowers I could find. Heading back from where I came, I found him laying down on a bench near where I had left him. Tip-toeing over as quietly as I could, I could tell that he was fast asleep. I smiled but rolled my eyes, thinking '_How predictable_'. Nudging his shoulder gently, I called out his name, "Sora. C'mon, wake up."

He slowly blinked his eyes open but quickly jumped up once he saw me, "Sorry, Kairi."

"It's okay. We did a lot today." I smiled shyly and held out my flowers for him, "Here you go. Thank you for the great Valentine's Day."

He took the flowers but immediately sat them down on the bench before leaning in towards me and cupping the side of my face. Realizing what he was doing, my breath caught in my throat and felt like I was going to explode from the butterflies building up in my stomach. But that all went away the moment I felt his lips on mine. Eagerly kissing him back, I wrapped my arms around his neck and pulled myself closer to him. When we broke away from each other, he spoke softly, "You're welcome."


End file.
